Property: This week: houses for eccentrics

PROPERTIES WITH A DIFFERENCE

KENT

Standen Farm, Biddenden. A Grade II* 15th-century house believed to have once been the home of Jane Austen's brother, with magnificent period features. 5 beds, 2 bath, 2 attic rooms, 2 receps, cloakroom, family room, kitchen, sun room, detached annex, barn, pond, 1.3 acres. pounds 550,000. Humberts 01580 765858.

CORNWALL

Tregenna Steps Studio, St Ives. A modern folly which is entirely open plan, with an 18-foot tower and one of the finest views of St Ives and the sea. Mezzanine level, artist's studio with frescos, kitchen, spiral staircase. study, 1 bath, courtyard garden. pounds 125,000. Jackson-Stops & Staff 01392 214222.

CUMBRIA

Derwent Island House, Derwent Water, Keswick. A Grade II late 18th-century house on a wooded seven-acre island owned by the National Trust. 3 beds, 3 bath, 3 attic rooms, 5 receps, billiard room, kitchen, cloakroom, cellar, 1-bed flat, store rooms, boathouse, former chapel, gardens. pounds 1,100 per month rental, plus an initial premium of pounds 35,000.

Knight Frank 0171 629 8171.

SOMERSET

The Temple of Pan, Goathurst, Taunton. A Grade II* Palladian folly which has been fastidiously restored using traditional methods, on the edge of the Quantock Hills. 4 beds, 3 bath, 3 receps, study, kitchen, cloakroom, utility room, lake, 4 acres. pounds 480,000. Jackson-Stops & Staff 01823-325144.

These properties have been selected by The Week, the magazine that gives you the best of British and foreign media. Send a cheque for pounds 49.50 to The Week, Freepost (SWB26), Bristol BS12 0BR or telephone the credit card hotline: 0171-447 0016. Or order a copy from your newsagent.